James Dean's Fast Cars

James Dean was notorious with fast cars. It was his passion. And he was good at it...and had the trophies to prove it. His 2 most famous cars were the beautiful Porche 356 Speedster and stunning Porsche Spyder. It was the Spyder that ultimately drove him to his death. But Jimmy wouldn't have gone any other way.

In an article by Jonathan Kendell in The Good Life magazine on the history of the Porsche dynasty, Jimmy was honorably mentioned, giving him a place in Porsche history:

"Prominent owners of the sports car have included King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Hussein of Jordan and King Carl Gustav of Sweden. But it was a tragic Hollywood prince who gave Porsche its mystique in the profitable American market. In 1955, the actor James Dean was killed when his Porsche Spyder 550 and another car crashed on a California highway, linking his name with the German sports car for eternity."

Read the entire article, "Porsche Panache", about the history and interesting progress of the much-loved sports car. See what James Dean fell in love with.

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Here's another little snippit I read mentioning Jimmy's link to Porsche. It's written about the incredible number of races the Porsche Spyder has won over the years.

"In 1954 at the Mille Miglia, Porsche won in the 550 Spyder. In 1955, at the World Sports Car Championship in Sebring, Porsche won first place in the 550 Spyder. In 1956, Porsche entered the Targa Florio and won overall. The worst thing about the Porsche 550 Spyder is that James Dean died while driving his."

Read the entire (short) article at Porsche 944 and Other Porsches.

1954 Porsche 356 Speedster

1955 Porsche Spyder 550